The Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library

Information Series

1. Ohio Case Law: Where to Find It 2. Legal Periodicals: Print, Microform & Online 3. Government Documents 4. Ohio Legislative History 5. Federal Legislative History 6. The U.S. Supreme Court 7. Law Library Collection 8. The Online Catalog 9. Ohio Legal Research10. The Ohio Constitution11. Supreme Court of Ohio12. Ohio Practice Materials13. Audiovisual Collection

Some Suggestions on How to Approach the Ohio Constitution www.lsc.state.oh.us./membersonly/124ohioconstitution.pdfAn LSC members-only brief. Offers suggestions on how to use and understand the Ohio Constitution.

digests and encyclopedias

Ohio Jurisprudence 3d (KFO 80 04)Legal encyclopedia of Ohio law. Includes a detailed chapter on Ohio Constitutional law and annotations to court decisions that interpret the Ohio Constitution. The library also has the first and second series of Ohio Jurisprudence.

West’s Ohio Digest (KFO 57 W4)Brief summaries of Ohio reported cases organized by subject. Includes digests of Ohio state and federal cases that interpret the Ohio Constitution.

online resources

Guidebook for Ohio Legislatorswww.lsc.state.oh.us/guidebook/index.htmlSummarizes the Ohio lawmaking process. Includes chapters on the constitutional framework of Ohio state government and the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.

LexisNexis / WestlawSubscription-based databases include a variety of information used to conduct Ohio Constitutional research, including cases, court rules, encyclopedias, law reviews, legislative history, newspapers and treatises.

For more information, contact Government Documents Librarian Diana Mercer at Diana.Mercer@sc.ohio.gov.

The Ohio Constitution

The Supreme Court of Ohio Law Library

Information Series

Law Library65 South Front Street Columbus, Ohio 43215-3431614.387.9680 phone614.387.9689 faxwww.supremecourt.ohio.govlibref@sc.ohio.gov

The Supreme Court of Ohio

historical research

The Supreme Court Law Library has an extensive collection of primary and secondary materials, including historical codes; session laws; superseded statutes and court rules; treatises; early Ohio reporters; and selected journals, debates and proceedings of the 1802, 1851, 1873 and 1912 constitutional conventions, which are helpful for researching the history of the Ohio Constitution.

The History of Ohio Law (KFO 78 H57)Two-volume set containing a collection of essays by academic lawyers, historians and practitioners. Includes essays on Ohio’s constitutional conventions and constitutions and Ohio’s constitutional culture, a foreword by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, bibliographical references and a subject index.

Ohio Constitutional Revision Commission (KFO 401 1851 A182)Ten-volume set published by the Ohio Constitutional Revision Commission, which was organized from 1970 to 1977, to study the Ohio Constitution and recommend necessary changes to the Ohio General Assembly.

Proceedings and Debates of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Ohio – 1912Available on the Court’s Web site, these documents include word-for-word accounts of delegate discussion during 22 weeks of meetings.

articles

The Ohio Constitution – Then and Now: An Examination of the Law and History of the Ohio Constitution on the Occasion of its BicentennialCleveland State Law Review 51, Nos. 3 and 4 (2004): 333-685. Papers presented at a symposium marking the bicentennial of the Ohio Constitution. The papers cover topics such as Ohio Constitutional history and interpretation, judicial federalism and the separation of powers in Ohio. Sponsored by the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University.

unannotated versions

Ohio General Assemblywww.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm

Ohio Secretary of Statewww.sos.state.oh.us/sos/publications/electVoterPubs/constitution.aspx

subject headings

The following subject headings are helpful for searching the online catalog for resources on the history, law, organization and interpretation of the Ohio Constitution.

• Constitutional history–Ohio• Constitutional law–Ohio• Constitutions–Ohio

guides and handbooks

Ohio Constitution Handbook (KFO 401 1851 A6S95)Includes an introduction to Ohio Constitutional history, extensive commentary and notes on decisions and opinions for each article and section of the constitution, practice and study aids and a quick reference index.

Ohio Legal Research Guide (KFO 75 P88)Comprehensive reference work on every aspect of Ohio legal research. A detailed chapter on the Ohio Constitution includes information about the methods of amending the Constitution, publication of the Constitution, the constitutional history of Ohio and documents of constitutional revision in Ohio.

Ohio State Constitution: A Reference Guide (KFO 401 1851 A6S74)Research guide to the text and interpretation of the Ohio Constitution. A section-by-section commentary explains each provision and traces its origins and interpretation by the courts and other government bodies. Includes a detailed chapter on the constitutional history of Ohio, a bibliographical essay, a selected bibliography, a table of cases and a subject index.

The Ohio Constitution is the fundamental law of Ohio. The Constitution defines what rights

are guaranteed to Ohio citizens and organizes the government into three separate branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The first Constitution was adopted in 1802 as a prerequisite to statehood. The current Constitution, which dates from 1851 (as amended), is the second in the state’s history.

organization

The Ohio Constitution is organized into a preamble and 17 numbered articles. The articles are grouped into seven broad categories: Bill of Rights; framework of government; suffrage and elections; state functions; taxing, borrowing and spending; local government; and amendments.

I. Bill of Rights II. Legislative III. Executive IV. Judicial V. Elective Franchise VI. Education VII. Public Institutions VIII. Public Debt and Public Works IX. Militia X. County and Township Organizations XI. Apportionment XII. Finance and Taxation XIII. Corporations XIV. Jurisprudence (repealed) XV. Miscellaneous XVI. Amendments XVII. Elections XVIII. Municipal Corporations

text of the ohio constitution

annotated versions

Baldwin’s Ohio Revised Code (KFO 30 1994 A2)

Page’s Ohio Revised Code (KFO 30.5 P3)